


tamed.

by elfiepike



Category: The Starting Line (Band)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-06-03
Updated: 2004-06-03
Packaged: 2017-10-29 07:16:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/317149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elfiepike/pseuds/elfiepike





	tamed.

 

the starting line, fiction. written in a chat to [](http://harmyjo.livejournal.com/profile)[**harmyjo**](http://harmyjo.livejournal.com/). unbeta'd and not too serious, but hey, i'm posting it so clearly i <3 it. ^^

  


  


  
**tamed**

  
Kenny says that Tom was getting close to thuggin' out but really Tom has a Secret Life--he thinks of it that way, with capital letters--one where he slips into black latex and eyeliner and nightclubs just call to him. He sneaks out of his room and take a taxi to a club, and spend the night dancing or--other things--and be back before dawn.

He feels sort of like cinderella, like he has a double-life and that makes him more interesting than being just plain Tom would, even being in a band and everything.

He didn't expect that Mike would ever catch him at it.

"Tom, what the fuck," Mike says.

Tom guesses that he should have expected this; they are sharing a room. "Um." He was never very eloquent under pressure.

"Tom," Mike says, and rubs his eyes.

Tom doesn't know what woke him up, but it kind of freaks him out. He's been doing this for months and none of them seemed to notice.

"You're dreaming," Tom says finally, and it's just dark enough and strange enough that Mike seems to believe it.

Nevertheless, Mike knowing about it disturbs him. He feels uneasy when he gets into the taxi, and no amount of dancing girls in hot fetish girls seem to take it off his mind.

  
When he gets back to the hotel, the room is dark, and he takes a moment for his eyes to adjust. Mike is still in his bed, and Tom thinks that maybe it's him that's dreaming, not Mike. Maybe he's been dreaming away this double-life this whole time.

No, the junk in his hair is real enough. The bruises on his arms from where a tall, tall woman clenched his arms to hard he thought he might burst--well, those are real.

He slips into the bathroom to peel off his clothes, and take a shower.

  
There are many possible explanations as to why he doesn't notice the bathroom door opening: maybe it's the sound of the water, hot on his chest and neck; maybe he's so worn out by going to a club that he just doesn't notice; maybe he wants the door to open. Be that as it may, he definitely notices when the shower curtain is pulled back.

It's Mike. Of course.

"Um," Tom says. He's always felt a little uneasy around Mike, he can't explain it. He loses whatever words he might have. It's like Mike is the wild animal and Tom knows he has to move carefully around him but he's completely forgotten which manner is the best, but either way he tries not to make any sudden movements.

"I don't think I was dreaming," Mike says.

The water is warm, hot really, and Tom can feel the bruises on his arms darken with viewing. He has other bruises from other nights, too, and he hopes that Mike doesn't see them, that Mike is suddenly blind. Somehow it's very important that Mike not think less of him.

He realizes that Mike is waiting for him to say something. "You could be," he finally says.

"If I'm dreaming," Mike says, and steps into the bathtub, one foot at a time, "then it really should go something like this." He's wearing boxers and a t-shirt, and Tom worries for a second about Mike getting cold and wet, and then Mike's kissing him, and Tom decides that he must be dreaming, he's had this dream so many times--

And then they've stopped, and the water is warm on Tom's back, and Mike is looking at him, really looking at him, like there are things hidden underneath his skin that if only Mike could see them he would know everything about Tom there was to know.

Maybe that's true, Tom thinks.

"That's how my dreams usually go," Mike says, finally.

Tom realizes that it's not Mike who's the wild animal. Mike is the one who is making all the right moves to keep Tom from bolting, and that's not the way animals act, at least, not any animals Tom knows, and really. That's what settles it. So Tom leans forward, and they kiss again, and again. And they're kissing for so long that the water starts to run cold, but by then it doesn't really matter.

Mike never asks about the bruises, but after that he's the only one who ever leaves them, and Tom thinks his new double-life is much more preferable than the old one.

end.

  



End file.
